According to James Mattis, Russia [represented by Vladimir Putin – Editor] “has chosen to be competitive, a strategic competitor with us and we will have to deal with that as we see it”.

“At this time … I do not see any indication that Mr. Putin would want a positive relationship with us. That is not to say we can’t get there as we look for common ground,” said the head of the Pentagon.

The main “diverging interest” at the moment is Syria, where Russia and the US-led coalition are fighting against terrorism, and where Russia itself has questions about the actions of the United States.

Sergei Rudskoy, the Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff, said on June 9 that “the [US-led] coalition is carrying out strikes against the Syrian Arab Army troops while declaring its goal to be fighting international terrorism… I want to ask a question: why are they doing this, and what are their real objectives? Thus far, we see that the [US-led] coalition’s actions only prevent the Syrian government troops from defeating the ISIL (organization banned in Russia) terrorist groups.”